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Google considering “producer” features for the Google+ Hangouts app Cameraman

If you haven’t given the app for Google+ Hangouts, Cameraman, a whirl yet, you really should. If you’re making shows with friends, or even for work, being able to control what your viewers see is key for Hangouts, especially when they’re live “on air.”

Google’s Chee Chew tipped his cap that a real third-party “producer” role might be coming for the Cameraman app, which would allow someone else to manage the broadcast, so that you can sit back and play host. Chew says the producer role is a common request the company has gotten since it launched the app, and he offered a nice hack that might work for you in the interim:

a request that we sometimes get is to have a producer role in hoa. i.e. one person is the main broadcaster/host, and someone else wants to be “behind the scenes”… controlling the camera, pulling questions in from the stream, etc.

we don’t formally have a producer role. it’s one of the many things we’re considering, however in the meantime, you might give this a try:

have the broadcaster join in the hangout twice. same account on two machines. one instance will be the broadcaster, and one will be the producer. have the producer on one one them open up cameraman and hide him/herself.

now the viewing audience only sees/hears the broadcaster. the producer can manage the room, show/hide others, and otherwise do the real work while the broadcaster showboats around :)

this doesn’t do all that we envision for a full producer role… but until we get to that, hopefully this helps.

Obviously, if you’re inviting someone to log in as you on a machine from a remote location, you better be able to trust them with your password. Otherwise, doing it yourself in the same location, is completely secure. This is great for news stations that are playing around with the app for the purpose of exclusive behind-the-scenes pieces on Google+.

What could a producer role mean for Hangouts? Well, it means that Google would have itself a fantastic high-quality solution for those who are making shows on the web. As it stands right now, the tool is pretty awesome, but if you were to add more controls and the ability to do things like on-air advertising and video transition effects, the company would attract some serious talent.